CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed incoming Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to Monday’s taping of The Late Show to discuss how she might react if the Trump administration sent ICE agents or National Guard soldiers to Virginia. Both argued that what the administration is currently doing in places like Minneapolis is simply trying to "instill” or “sow fear.”
Colbert began by hailing a lawsuit that should go nowhere, “Governors have recently across the United States, have been put in a sort of, untenable situation having their states invaded by their own federal government, you know, against their wishes, sending National Guard troops from other states when they weren't asked to do so. Minnesota and Illinois, and we just found this out. This is actually right before I came out here, it was announced that Minnesota and Illinois have announced that they are suing the Trump administration over—Illinois already won over the National Guard. Now they are suing over ICE being sent in. What's your reaction to what's happening?”
The idea that the federal government would have no-go parts of the country where it can’t enforce federal law seems like an obvious non-starter. As for Spanberger, she began her response by repeating some autobiographical details in an attempt to give credence to Colbert’s anti-ICE disposition, “I worked on task forces with local, state, and federal police, and what I learned every single day in law enforcement is your ability to do your job is built on trust and what we are seeing day in and day out when people are going in, wearing masks, terrifying communities, is that they are breaking down that trust, and it is actually impeding the ability to keep our communities safe, to enforce the law.”
Spanberger also hinted that the administration’s law enforcement operations are actually making it more difficult to enforce the law, “As governor I will ensure that we are a place where, yes, we uphold the law, but people know that if they are a victim of a crime, or if they are a witness of a crime, or if they are a community member, that they are in a place where there is trust that is being built and not degraded day in and day out by the tactics we are seeing.”
Colbert then wondered about two hypotheticals, “Just take these two scenarios. National Guard troops are sent in from another state, say Texas to Virginia. Or ICE was sent in at this level of force and seemingly for—just to harass and to instill fear. What responses can you have as a governor within Virginia law that is not superseded by federal law to actually protect the citizens of your state or the residents of your state?”
After declaring that she will be in charge of the Virginia National Guard, Spanberger echoed Colbert’s anti-ICE sentiments, “I will make known to the Trump administration that we do not want—we do not want them trying to sow fear, to sow division within our communities. And if there is a warrant, absolutely. If there is a warrant for someone's arrest, there’s room for coordination between law enforcement agencies. But what we have seen in places like Minnesota, it is not meeting any end goal of making us safer.”
She also repeated her earlier idea about how the administration’s actions are actually making law enforcement more difficult, “And as someone who used to focus on counterterrorism cases when I was a CIA officer after my time in law enforcement, what really worries me is the fact that so many of our law enforcement capabilities are being pivoted away from investigating crimes and investigating potential threats that exist within our communities, as they are leveraging people to pivot over towards sowing fear in communities.”
Spanberger was Colbert’s first elected political guest of the year, but the old pattern remained the same: the host says one thing, and then the guest repeats it to make the host and audience feel validated.
Here is a transcript for the January 12-taped show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
1/13/2026
12:21 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: A lot of responsibility as a governor.
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: Yeah.
COLBERT: Governors have recently across the United States, have been put in a sort of, untenable situation having their states invaded by their own federal government, you know, against their wishes, sending National Guard troops from other states when they weren't asked to do so. Minnesota and Illinois, and we just found this out. This is actually right before I came out here, it was announced that Minnesota and Illinois have announced that they are suing the Trump administration over—Illinois already won over the National Guard. Now they are suing over ICE being sent in. What's your reaction to what's happening?
SPANBERGER: So, I am the incoming governor of Virginia, but I began my career as a federal agent. I used to work narcotics and money laundering cases. I carried a gun every day. I worked on task forces with local, state, and federal police, and what I learned every single day in law enforcement is your ability to do your job is built on trust, and what we are seeing day in and day out when people are going in, wearing masks, terrifying communities, is that they are breaking down that trust and it is actually impeding the ability to keep our communities safe, to enforce the law.
And as governor I will ensure that we are a place where, yes, we uphold the law, but people know that if they are a victim of a crime, or if they are a witness of a crime, or they are a community member, that they are in a place where there is trust that is being built and not degraded day in and day out by the tactics we are seeing.
COLBERT: Well, what if—just take these two scenarios. National Guard troops are sent in from another state, say Texas to Virginia. Or ICE was—
SPANBERGER: Yeah.
COLBERT: — sent in at this level of force and seemingly for—just to harass and to instill fear. What responses can you have as a governor within Virginia law that is not superseded by federal law to actually protect the citizens of your state or the residents of your state?
SPANBERGER: Well, at the end of the day if there's an emergency in Virginia that requires the support of the Guard, first and foremost we have an incredible Guard in Virginia, and it is up to the governor to bring forth the Virginia Guard to help our citizenry.
We do not need outside support unless the governor is the one who makes that request. And so as the incoming governor of Virginia, I will make known to the Trump administration that we do not want—we do not want them trying to sow fear, to sow division within our communities.
And if there is a warrant, absolutely. If there is a warrant for someone's arrest, there’s room for coordination between law enforcement agencies. But what we have seen in places like Minnesota, it is not meeting any end goal of making us safer.
And as someone who used to focus on counterterrorism cases when I was a CIA officer after my time in law enforcement, what really worries me is the fact that so many of our law enforcement capabilities are being pivoted away from investigating crimes and investigating potential threats that exist within our communities, as they are leveraging people to pivot over towards sowing fear in communities.
